Scandalous
by Zohh
Summary: "We're noblemen wives, we've seen it all!" CHAPTER SIX POSTED WHAT.
1. Chapter One

Don't you just love random ideas that squeeze their ways through the depths of your mind as you're listening to _The 25__th__ Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee _soundtrack on your iPod during a two hour car ride?

* * *

It wasn't even sunrise yet, and she was already awake. She tried her hardest not to move, for Zuko was still sound asleep next to her. But the fact that the room looked like it was spinning, and that her stomach felt as if it was churning did not help.

Carefully, Mai wiped the sweat off of her forehead, and turned over to try and fall back asleep. The bed shook slightly, causing a slight discomfort in her stomach. To ease herself, she tried taking a deep breath, still trying to not wake Zuko.

He, however, turned over, and Mai ultimately felt like she was going to vomit. Giving up on trying to stay quiet, Mai sat up and groaned.

She was hoping that Zuko would stir, but sighed when he didn't. The room was still spinning, so she closed her eyes, leaning her head against the bed frame.

It wasn't until her stomach churned again did Mai remove herself from the position she was. Immediately, she got out of bed and ran hurriedly to the bathroom, collapsing when she reached it.

"Mai?" Zuko asked, finally wakeful. He cringed slightly at the sound of retching coming from the washroom. With the sound of water splashing, Mai walked out, her face dripping.

"Are you okay?" He asked, getting out of bed and walking towards her.

"Obviously not." Mai replied, not even bothering to wipe the water off of her face.

"Shall I call for one of the healers?"

"No. I'm fine."

"But you just said that you-"

"I'm fine!" She snapped.

Her stomach now empty, Mai strode over to the bed and managed to fall back asleep, leaving a disgruntled Prince Zuko standing stupidly by the bathroom door.

It was mid-morning when she awoke once more, and instead of feeling like she was going to vomit, Mai felt as if she could eat an entire platypus-bear.

Removing herself from the silk sheets, she walked down a single flight of stairs to the dining room, where Zuko was finishing his own breakfast of fruit and pastries.

"Are you feeling better?" He asked, setting down a half eaten papaya.

"Much." Mai sat down and grabbed an apple, taking a generous bite from it.

"I thought you hated apples," Zuko said, cocking his head slightly.

"Na rilly." She said through a mouthful of the fruit.

Zuko looked at her, as if she had wings sprouting from her ears.

"What?" Mai asked, finishing off the apple, and taking another.

"Should you be eating apples after getting sick?"

"There's nothing wrong with eating fruit." She said simply, biting down hard on the apple.

"Yes, but-" Mai glared at him, causing him to close his mouth.

Zuko sighed. "Alright. I have a meeting today with Uncle, hopefully it won't run too long."

"Have fun drinking tea with the Fire Lord," She snickered, taking yet another apple.

Rolling his eyes, Zuko got up from the table and kissed Mai on the cheek, headed for the war chamber which was on the other side of the palace.

"Can I take your dish, Lady Mai?" A maid appeared at her side, gesturing towards the apple core-covered plate.

Mai nodded, and grabbed one last apple before the other servers cleared the table.

Having nothing better to do, she retreated to the courtyard, and finished eating her apple by the pond. She let the turtle-ducks nibble on the core, leaning against the stone that surrounded the water.

The turtle-ducks quaked happily, swimming around in circles. Mai eventually dropped the apple core in the pond, causing the animals to get scarred. She closed her eyes, leaning her elbow on the edge of the stone surrounding and sitting on the grass.

Though she had woken up only an hour before- not including when she felt sick before dawn- Mai was as tired as if she been awake all night.

"Mai?"

She wanted to open her eyes, but was quite content to keep them closed.

"Mai?" He placed a hand on her shoulder, which caught her by surprise.

"What?!" She gasped, immediately popping her head.

"Why are you sleeping by the pond? Are you sure you're okay?" Zuko asked, helping her up.

"I s-suppose I'm just t-tired today." She said, yawning.

"Are you sure you aren't sick?" He asked yet again.

"Yes, I'm fine."

"Well, come inside for lunch, then maybe you can have a lay-down."

Mai fallowed him back to the palace, just as hungry as she was in the morning.

"And what shall we have the cook make for us today?"

"Something sour. No, salty."

"Okay," Zuko looked at her with a confused look. "Any particular salty food?"

"I could go for a fruit tart." She said, thoroughly thinking abut what she wanted to eat/

"But that's not- Alright." Zuko stopped himself, going over to the cook to tell him to make a fruit tart.

Within the next few minutes, one of the servants brought out a fruit tart, while the other brought out a bowl of rice.

"Mmmm," Mai forgot all aspects of being a proper Fire Nation Lady, and began shoveling down her tart.

"Hungry?" Zuko asked, chuckling.

She shot daggers at him- through her eyes, not her stilettos- causing the prince to back off.

"Testy today." He murmured to himself, so as to not let Mai hear him.

Mai finished her lunch- well, desert- in a matter of moments, looking thoroughly satisfied.

"I think I am going to have a lay-down." She said, letting the servants clear her place.

"Should I come for you at anytime?" Zuko asked.

"No, that won't be necessary." Mai replied, shaking her head.

As she was about to climb up the stairwell, he tugged at her sleeve, and she turned around.

Kissing her lightly, he said, "Are you sure you're feeling alright?"

Mai rolled her eyes, and gently pushed him away, walking up the stairwell. She was unusually tired today, and immediately fell asleep when her head hit the pillow.

It was almost sunset when she awoke, her stomach growling. She was starting to feel like that Water Tribe boy who always ate- according Zuko's stories from helping the Avatar.

There was a knock on the door, and Zuko walked in quietly.

"Oh, you're awake." He said, sitting on the bed next to her. "You were sleeping for most of the afternoon. Ty Lee came by, looking for you. She wanted to tell you something."

"I have a craving for nuts." Mai said abruptly.

"Er. . ." He looked at her.

"Roasted nuts." She confirmed.

"Okay, then. Well, I go and tell one of the maids." The prince got up, looking befuddled, and went to fetch a maid.

Zuko returned within the minute, his confused expression wiped from his face.

"How did the meeting go today?" Mai asked, sitting up on the bed.

"Uncle droned on about how the Fire Nation needs more tea shops to attract more tourist." He sighed.

"Tourist?"

He nodded. "There's also going to be a fancy party, celebrating the peace treaty between us and the Earth Kingdom, next week. We're obligated to attend."

"_We're_?" Mai questioned.

"Your parents are going to be there." Zuko replied, half-smiling.

She made a noise that sounded like a cross between a groan and a sigh, witch frightened the maid that was walking in with the roasted nuts.

"The n-nuts you requested, Pr-prince Zuko." The maid spluttered, holding them out with her shaking hands.

"Yes, thank you," He relieved the women of the nuts, sending her off to help the others.

Mai looked at them, pursing her lips.

"I'm really not that hungry." She said, laying back down.

Zuko looked only slightly dumbfounded.

* * *

I know, I'm over exaggerating things a bit, so far. 


	2. Chapter Two

I'll try not to over-exaggerate things this time. Only a little exaggeration.

* * *

She opened her eyes, the sun barely peaking through the window. Rolling over to her side, she noticed that the room was still moving. 

Mai groaned, and almost fell out of the bed as she stumbled to the bathroom. Every morning for the past three days. It was starting to become a routine.

"Mai, just let me get one of the healers." Zuko said, knocking on the door.

"I'm- fine!" She called back, coughing.

Zuko sighed, shaking his head. Mai walked out of the bathroom, her face paler than it usually was.

"You look ill." Zuko stated.

"I'm-"

"Fine?"

"Yes." She sat back down on the bed, looking quite exhausted.

"Well, Ty Lee said she was going to stop by today."

"That's n-nice." Mai yawned.

"And I'm being forced to help Uncle prepare for the 'party' in two days."

"You have fun with that,"

"Don't worry I will." Zuko smiled sarcastically. "Oh, by the way, your mother, father, and brother are back from re-establishing New Ozai. Now it's back to being Omashu."

"Nothing can express the loathsome emotions I feel for my family." She sighed.

"I think the fact that you say _that_ whenever you're around your family may express your loathsome feelings."

"If I enjoyed the company of my family, I would live with them. But, I chose to live with you instead." Mai pointed out.

"And we were constantly mocked by Azula too." Zuko said.

"Yes, well, she governs the Colonies now, along with Ty lee."

"Uncle_had_ to give them something to do. If it were my decision, though, Azula would have been sent to exile. Besides, she's home remember?"

"No, I don't recall you ever telling me." Mai said wryly.

"I told you Ty Lee was here, she wanted to tell you something." He replied.

"I didn't know Ty Lee coming back meant Azula as well."

Zuko shrugged. "C'mon, let's get breakfast and you can meet up with Ty Lee."

"You go, I'm not that hungry."

Shaking his head, Zuko closed the door and walked down to the dinning hall.

Mai, whose upset stomach had now subsided, slowly undressed from her night gown. She sighed upon glancing out the window when she saw her mother outside with Tom-Tom as she tied the sash on her robe. Tea with her mother would be arranged later that day, and there's no way she could get out of it, therefore Mai would have to sit through her mother talk about nothing important- and pretend to care.

Turning her back to the window, Mai rolled up the sleeves of her robe in order to clasp the bands that held her stilettos to her wrist. It wasn't that she felt safer with them, or that she just liked having them around, it was that Mai knew she might need them since there would end up being an engagement with not only her mother but with Ty Lee- and supposedly Azula- as well.

There was a knock on the door, and Mai quickly turned her head, her neck cracking in the process. Grimacing at the pain, she went over to open the door, only to be shoved to the ground in an unbearably tight hug.

"Mai! It's so good to see you!"

"Geroff me! I Cnt brweve!" Mai gasped for breath underneath the pink mound on top of her.

"Oh, sorry," Ty Lee giggled, getting up, and then helping Mai up from the ground.

"So, Zuko said Azula was with you?" Mai gestured her Ty Lee to sit in one of the chairs by the window, fallowing suit with the one beside.

"Yes, but she's off torturing him right now. She always seemed to complain about not being able to do that while we were In the colonies."

"Finally, something worth watching."

"I though you liked living with Zuko?" Ty Lee questioned, cocking her head slightly.

"I do, it just gets so boring sometimes- like I was living with my parents in Omashu." She replied, sighing.

"Oh! Speaking of Zuko!" Ty Lee said suddenly.

"We were talking about Zuko?" Mai asked.

The contortionist ignored her friend and continued. "He wanted me to make sure you were okay, and that you ate something today."

Mai rested her chin on her hand, rolling her eyes. "_I'm fine_." She muttered.

Ty Lee looked at her skeptically. "Is everything alright?"

"I'm_fine_!"

"He said you were getting sick in the mornings."

"So?"

"Your appetite has been strange,"

"And?"

"Oh, Mai! You've been drinking!" Ty Lee gasped, clasping her hands over her mouth.

"What? I don't drink." Mai said, crossing her arms.

"Hey- I've been around the circus. The platypus-bear trainer knew his Dragon Whiskey."

"I don't drink!" Mai snapped. She was glad she had her stilettos concealed in her cloak. Obviously by the way Ty Lee was acting, she would need them.

"Relax, I was only kidding."

Glancing back out the window, Mai noticed that her mother was no longer outside, and gave a relieving sigh. Squinting, she could see a small figure running around in circles in the grass, laughing as something furry fallowed it. She had almost forgotten how old her brother had gotten.

"We should probably save Zuko from his sister." Mai said, breaking their silence.

"Can we watch some of the torture before stopping it?" Ty Lee asked, hopping up from the chair.

"If you must,"

Fallowing Ty Lee out the door, Mai paused for a moment, the sickness feeling passing through her. She shivered as the need to vomit passed, and slowly bounded down the stairs.

"Ty Lee, they're most likely in the ball chamber." Mai said, reaching the bottom of the staircase.

The contortionist walked over to her, a grin plastered on her face.

"What? Did I miss Azula embarrassing Zuko?"

"You two are getting married!" Ty Lee exclaimed.

"No, we're not." Mai said scathingly, the daggers in her sleeve pressing harder against her wrist. Ty Lee could be such a nuisance sometimes.

Huffing, the pink clad girl stalked off to the ball chamber, attempting to guess as to what was wrong with Mai.

"Oh, I know! You two are-" Buy she was cut off by a silver stiletto landing point-down in front of her feet.

"If you must know Ty Lee," Mai said, flushing, "I'm pregnant."


	3. Chapter Three

"No!" Ty Lee gasped.

Mai flashed her a look, keeping her face as straight as possible. Hopefully, that would shut her up.

"But, you're unmarried! You _must _be pulling my leg,"

"You're right," Mai had started walking towards the ball chamber. "I am."

"What?" Ty Lee ran after her, highly confused.

Opening the door, Mai looked over her shoulder to see Ty Lee right behind her, a pressing look on her face.

"Mai!_ Are_ you pregnant?" Ty Lee asked, storming into the room.

"What's this about my brother impregnating my friend?" Azula strode forward, a smirk gracing her lips. Behind her in a corner, Zuko lay sprawled on the ground, a mound of tin pots on top of him.

"Mai won't tell me whether she's pregnant or not." Ty Lee heaved, looking disgruntled.

"I should assume that it's my brother's child?" Azula asked.

"No, you shouldn't assume that it's Zuko's child- there is no child." Mai crossed her arms, feeling her stilettos push against her wrists once more. Her face turned a light shade of pink as foolishness swept through her body. Leave it to Ty Lee to blurt things out.

"Well of course there isn't a child. I doubt you and Zuko would do such a scandalous thing." Azula said off-handedly.

"_Scandalous_?" Mai asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You're too … conservative. The most you've done is leaving your parents to live in the palace." The princess explained.

"I left my parents when I was fifteen, in order to help _you_ trail the Avatar and your brother and uncle." Mai replied, seething. "Besides, who are you one to talk _Princess_ Azula?"

"Oh! Can I tell her now?" Ty Lee asked eagerly.

"I suppose, now that the topic has risen." Azula answered.

There was a loud crash interrupting the acrobat, presumably Zuko managing to rid himself of the tin pots. He, however, walked over to the three young women, his left pant leg ripped and his hair going in all different directions.

"Ah, you've just missed the torturing." Zuko said sarcastically, glaring at his sister who merely laughed at him.

"Zuko, is Mai pregnant?" Ty Lee asked abruptly.

"I should hope not!" He said, looking both highly shocked and confused. "Why do you ask, anyway?"

"Well, because Mai said-"

"You know, I'm starving." Mai announced, grabbing Zuko's arm and rushing out of the room.

She quickly walked past Ty Lee and Azula, the hem of her robe swishing in the air.

"She's been like that for the past week." Zuko sighed.

"Like what?" Ty Lee asked, cocking her head a little.

"Abrupt. And hungry. And tired, and angry, and depressed, and sick . . ." The prince droned on, but came to a halt when Ty Lee and Azula burst out in laughter. Ty Lee clasped her hands over mouth to try and stop her giggles, and ran out the door, fallowing in Mai's tracks.

"What was that?" Zuko asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Go and clean up those pots!" Azula snapped hastily, though still chuckling at the whole ordeal.

The prince stalked back over to the pile of tin pots, mumbling incoherently to himself.

"Mai!" Ty Lee called, rushing to catch up to her. The acrobat found her in the kitchen, lazily leaning against small wooden table with a half eaten apple in her hand. "Since when do you like apples?"

"What do you want?" Mai asked, taking a bite from the apple.

"Are you sick?"

"Has Zuko been telling you things?"

"Why does it matter if Zuko has told me something?"

"How come you keep answering me with another question?" Mai asked hotly, hiding the apple core in the sleeves of her robe.

"You _are_ pregnant!" Ty Lee said.

"No, I am not." Mai replied calmly.

"Yes, you are!"

"I think I would know if I was, Ty Lee." Mai replied, looking in the other direction.

"When was the last time you had sex?" The contortionist asked, not even caring about the content of her question.

"Do you honestly think that I would answer that absurd question?"

"Well, you obviously can't be a virgin anymore- since you're living with Zuko. I just thought you would at least tell _me_. Your _friend_. The one who _wouldn't_ mock you." Ty Lee said, emphasizing her words.

"I really do not want to continue with this conversation." Mai said curtly. "Besides, you still would mock me."

"If you won't answer that question," Ty Lee pressed on, ignoring her comment,"then when was your last menstruation?"

Mai didn't even look at her, but instead threw the core of her apple, hitting Ty Lee straight in the abdomen.

"Ow! What was that for?"

Still not moving her head, Mai swiftly pulled a stiletto out from its hold, gripping it tightly. The tip shined in the sunlight that leaked through the windows, eager to be thrown and pierce its next target.

"Fine, if you won't tell me, then I suppose I'll just have to tell your _mother_ that you're pregnant!" Ty Lee huffed, turning on her heel and leaving.

The smirk on Mai's face left faster then her daggers ripping through the air. Regret swept through her mind- she shouldn't have said anything to Ty Lee. The prospect of her mother finding out that she was pregnant- though the acrobat didn't know for a fact- was the worst possible thing that could happen to Mai.

Fallowing in her footsteps, Mai ran after Ty Lee, hoping with all her might that she hadn't reached her parents' house yet. The contortionist, however, was merely standing by the palace gates, a grin wide on her face.

"What?" She asked, angered.

"So, any ideas for a name?"

"I am _not_ pregnant!" Mai yelled, causing a nearby bird to fly off.

Ty Lee burst out in a fit of giggles, attempting to stifle them by covering her mouth with her hands.

"Mai,"

Mai turned her head at the call of her name, only to frown in dismay.

"Yes, mother?"

"Oh, Mai, it's so good to see you!" Her mother said, running through the palace gates to hug her daughter- pushing the guard aside in doing so. "And you too, Ty Lee!"

Ty Lee, who was still recovering from her fit of laughter only nodded her head and smiled.

"Now, what is this about you bearing a child? I assume that it's Prince Zuko's, yes?"


	4. Chapter Four

A long overdue update.

* * *

"No, it's not Prince Zuko's child," Perhaps Mai should have finished her sentence, but the sight of her mother half screaming and half fainting was much too good to waste on telling the truth on.

"Oh, my daughter's a-a, a tramp!" Mai's mother sobbed as her and Ty Lee guided her into foyer.

"Mother," Mai tried to gain her attention, but was so far failing to do so. "Mother!" The loud shout caught her attention, and Mai's mother quickly stopped sobbing hysterically.

"Whose child is it, then?" She asked, using a cloth to wipe her eyes.

Mai sighed. "There is no child."

"No child? But Ty Lee said—"

"Ty Lee was lying to you,"

"No I wasn't! _You're_ in denial!" Ty Lee pointed at Mai.

"Right. I'm in denial about my own pregnancy, just like you're in denial about snogging with the princess last night." Mai said sarcastically, turning her head in the other direction.

"What? Me kissing Azula? That's completely absurd!" Ty Lee said, blushing fervently.

"I know it's absurd, I was being sarcastic to prove my point." Mai said, ignoring her mother's flabbergasted look.

"Oh, right, of-of course." The contortionist lowered her head and smiled weakly to cover up for her embarrassment.

"What has gotten into you?" Mai's mother asked, referring to her daughter. "First you leave your father and I to live in the palace, then you go and get yourself pregnant, and now you're accusing your dearest friend of kissing another women?"

Mai pursed her lips, thinking hard of something to say that wouldn't be incredibly crude. "I left you and father because you both were- and are- twits, I am _not _pregnant, and I was only acting pithy when talking about Ty Lee and Azula." Maybe it wasn't nice, but what she said was a lot better than what she would have said.

"Twits? So that's what you think of us? Your parents who raised you to be a woman of high class and morals, are now twits?"

"Obviously I don't have high morals if you think that I am pregnant," Mai said dryly.

Ty Lee bit her lip, staring awkwardly at the two arguing in front of her. "I'm just going to go and h-help Azula," And with that, Ty Lee ran off to find the princess, and most likely hide.

"No, I suppose you don't." Mai gave a hard look at her mother before turning around and leaving, fallowing suit to Ty Lee.

--

The weak rays of the setting sun shone through the windows as Mai gingerly tied the sash of her dress robe. She smiled to herself, relieved that it still fit.

"You can't keep hiding it forever," Mai turned around to see who was speaking.

"I'm not hiding anything Ty Lee." She replied, smoothing out the long silk.

"How long have you known?" Ty Lee asked, ignoring her friend.

"I haven't known—" Mai was cut off, however, when Ty Lee opened her mouth to interject.

"Zuko said you've been throwing up each morning for a week."

"Since when have you listened to Zuko?" Mai asked.

"I've never not listened to him- he's never really told me anything. Besides, I doubt the soon to be Fire Lord would lie."

"Take a look at his past," Mai muttered.

"Hm?" Ty Lee couldn't hear what Mai had said.

"Nothing."

"You are pregnant, and there is no denying it."

"I'm only denying it because it's not true,"

"What are you so afraid of? You and Zuko were bound to have children anyway, why does it matter if it's now?" Ty Lee questioned.

"It matters because we're not married," Mai sighed, sitting in one of the chairs near the window.

"So you _are_ pregnant,"

"Ty Lee!"

"You can't hide it," The contortionist said again, walking out of the room. "Because it will soon become obvious."

Mai turned her head and bit her bottom lip. She hadn't thought about that- the obviousness, at least.

--

The fancy gathering of stuck up, wealthy men and their wives, was unnaturally boring in Mai's opinion. She sat next to Zuko who had to stand up every three minutes to shake the hand of a rich noblemen or ambassador.

"How am I supposed to remember the names of all these people when I'm Fire Lord?" He asked, sitting back down.

"You won't have to. You will probably have an advisor who does that for you." Mai said, sipping her tea.

"I suppose I will, but it is dreadfully boring at the moment." Zuko sighed, receiving a look of agreement from Mai.

She placed her half empty cup of tea down, the chattering of wealthy wives growing louder.

"I heard she was having his child," One woman said.

"At such a young age? Are they even married?" Another asked.

"No, but she does live in the palace." The first woman replied.

"They're unmarried? How libelous!"

Mai froze. Her mother had gone around to all of her friends and gossiped about the pregnancy that she denied.

"I see the rumor mill has already started," Zuko stated, referring to the rich wives of the noblemen getting up and walking around, whispering shiftily to each other.

"Yes, it has." Mai replied monotonically, her eyes still glazed over.

"I wonder who they're talking abut this time?" He wondered allowed, turning to Mai for an answer, but she instead turned her head away. "Mai?"

The first woman began speaking again as Zuko tried gaining his girlfriend's attention: "Apparently she's denying it."

"Well who wouldn't deny such a scandalous thing?" The second woman questioned.

"Mai!" She turned her head back to the prince, the conversation between the two stuck up, wealthy woman literally behind her.

"Are you feeling alright?" Zuko asked skeptically.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, you've been a little … off for the past few weeks."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Mai said simply, taking another sip of her tea.

Zuko rolled his eyes, but stood up in order to shake the hands of two ambassadors that had just arrived, quickly fallowed by Ty Lee and Azula.

"Mai, Zuko," Azula said, a rather fake looking smile plastered on her face.

"Azula, Ty Lee," Zuko nodded as he spoke, obviously refraining himself from speaking unkindly to his sister.

"So Mai," Azula's fake smile turned into a smirk. "How are you _feeling_?."

* * *

I feel Mai was a little out of character, and possibly Ty Lee as well ... Why yes, I did change what Azula just said. I know, it was a bit more suspenseful before, but I was blessed with an idea, and it would be easier if I were to just tweak Azula's words slightly. Hopefully I'll have chapter five up within due time.


	5. Chapter Five

Mai first looked at Ty Lee, who was trembling, and then to Azula, who was smirking.

"I am feeling just fine," she answered.

"Why wouldn't she be?" Zuko asked, clearly oblivious as to what was really going on.

"You said so yourself that she has been getting sick a lot, I just wanted to make sure that my friend wasn't terminally ill with some tragic disease." Azula said. "But, of course, Mai will be alright within nine months,"

"Nine months?"

Refusing to look at Zuko, Mai took this time to mentally throw daggers at Ty Lee, actually clenching one in her hand.

"Would anyone care to bless me with information?" Zuko asked, glaring at his sister.

"Sorry ZuZu, but Ty Lee and I must be going now," Azula said with a careless wave to her brother, holding onto Ty Lee's hand as the two of them left the chamber.

"Mai, what exactly is going on?" the prince slowly turned his head to face her.

She didn't bother to face him, but instead listened more intently as the older women at the party continued to gabber on.

"Oh, her poor mother! Imagine how she is feeling, knowing that her only daughter had to go and get pregnant before marriage,"

"_Scandalous!_"

"Well, obviously they're going to get married- especially with Zuko becoming Fire Lord soon,"

Upon hearing his own name, Zuko's neck snapped in the directing of the talking noblemen wives, listening in on their conversation, too.

"I don't even think the prince knows,"

"_Scandalous!_"

Immediately Mai got up from her seat and left the room, slipping away before anyone could see her.

After gaping at the now empty scene before him, Zuko dispersed from the chamber to start his attempt to find Mai. As he walked down the corridors of the castle he heard hurried footsteps behind him. And it was all that he could do to stop himself from slapping his hand to his forehead.

"Don't you women have anything better to do?" he asked tersely to the group of gossiping noblemen wives that had obviously been fallowing him.

"We just want to know what's going on!"

"It's a bit personal, don't you think?"

"Not at all!" replied a rather short woman, who was draped in crimson robes that looked twice her size.

"You are the prince, heir to the throne! We deserve to know the goings-on in your life," another said, who was wearing so much pink it looked as if Ty Lee had dressed her.

The prince was livid. He did not bother to bicker with the women, for it would serve no significant purpose. Instead, he continued down the corridor at a quicker pace, looking behind himself to make sure they still weren't fallowing him. He nearly ran into a pole as he jogged, but the pain caused was deemed worthy when he finally lost sight of the gossiping wives.

"Mai!" he called, hoping to gain at least one sign of where she had run off to. "Mai!"

"Come now, ZuZu, you can't be _that_ thick,"

He sighed. "I thought you had gone off with Ty Lee. Where is she?"

Azula casually looked at her nails as if they were more important than the conversation being held. "I sent her off to my personal chamber for the moment. I wanted some alone time with my dear brother."

Zuko furrowed his brow. "Some alone time…in the middle of the foyer?"

"We're alone now, aren't we?"

"I suppose. What do want, exactly?"

"Well, for starters, I want to make sure that my older brother, and heir to the throne, isn't as unintelligent as he is acting." Azula answered, clasping her hands together.

"Am I?" he asked calmly.

"Mai is pregnant. Only an idiot wouldn't be able to tell." she said flatly. "So, to answer your question, yes. You are as unintelligent as you are acting."

"What? No!" Zuko was outraged. "She can't be pregnant. I _would_ know, in fact, because Mai would tell me."

"Would she, Zuko?" Azula grinned wickedly.

"So it's true!" The many gossiping wives of the many boring noblemen had arrived, all pointing fingers at the royal siblings.

"_Scandalous!_"

"It is _not_ true, think you very much! And I would appreciate it if you women would return to the ball chamber,"

"And we would appreciate it if you would be quiet and let us learn about your libelous actions!" said the woman that was clad in more pink than Ty Lee.

Zuko gaped open mouthed at the group. How dare they disrespect the prince like that! "Well, if you feel as such, then perhaps next time there is a royal party you can attend it _outdoors_ and just press your ears up against the door so as to hear everything going on, and then chat about it later."

"Prince Zuko, I am astonished! First you impregnate my daughter without first getting married, and then you talk to women as if they were low-life creatures! Perhaps _you_ aren't fit for the throne,"

Azula laughed mischievously.

"You!" Zuko turned to his sister. "You had something to do with this, didn't you?"

"Oh please, dear brother, I had nothing to do with what ever it is you and Mai wish to partake in bed together,"

His face turned a similar shade of crimson as the short woman's robes. "Well," he spluttered. "Well, I suppose…"

"Wait,"

Every single head turned to the top of the stairwell that was behind the main entrance to the palace. Mai walked cautiously down the wooden steps, her hand gliding along the railing.

"Is it true, Lady Mai? Are you having the prince's child?" another woman called for her, receiving a nudge in the side by one of her friends.

"You don't ask, you just talk about it!" the friend hissed.

"I am sorry, Zuko," Mai said once she had descended from the stairs.

He cleared his throat and took her hand. "That's alright. Where were you?"

"Oh, you know." she shrugged. "Throwing up," she added matter-of-factly, as if getting sick was a common occurrence that was often talked about.

A resounding gasp erupted from the group of older woman, murmurs fallowing suit.

"Azula! What's taking you so long?" Ty Lee had emerged from the princess' room, standing defiantly on the top of the stares like a small child. The sash that went with her usual 'fancy-party' outfit had been removed, and she stood with her hands on her hips.

Another group-gasp erupted, and more heads turned back to the stares. Azula looked as if she was more than prepared to commit homicide.

* * *

It's been quite a while, eh? I'm not going to even bother apologize for taking over a year to update; it would be useless.


	6. Chapter Six

**Author's note: **Oh, fuck guys. This is back.

There are like, a million mistakes in the previous chapters (and probably a million more in this), but I'm a lame hypocrite so I'm probs not going to fix them. But I've been in this "OMG MUST WRITE MOAR FAN FICTION" faze ever since the second half of _Pretty Little Liars_ started up, and I didn't want to neglect my _Avatar_ work. Plus, like, this story is full of so much win that it's almost a crack!fic.

* * *

"Oh, and what's this?" Zuko asked, almost gleefully.

"I, uh..." Azula spluttered, trying to find the right words in order to string together a coherent sentence.

"The princess? Being waited on by another girl?"

_"Scandalous!"_

"Oh, will you crotchety old women shut up!" Azula shouted, blue sparks emitting from her clenched fists.

The noblemen wives gasped, each of them bringing a hand to their mouths. Mai took the sudden change in conversation to ascend the stairs once more and slip away from the gossiping wives. While she would have very much liked to listen and watch the scene unfold, what with Azula's face an embarrassing shade of scarlet and Ty Lee standing on top of the stairwell half naked, but her stomach disagreed with her likelihood (not to mention, being away from the wives meant that she may no longer be the topic of their discussion).

Zuko looked up to see Mai sneak past Ty Lee and then centered his gaze back on his sister. "Azula," he said, "why is Ty Lee standing with her clothing partly removed?"

"Yes, I would like to know that, too!" Said the woman with the crimson robes that looked too big for her.

Next to her, a woman draped in orange piped up. "I would also like to know why you are taking too long, and _why_ that is so important."

Azula cleared her throat, turning away from the gossiping old women and towards the acrobat. "Ty Lee," her voice was at its usual icy standard. "I told you to wait in my chamber until I came upstairs."

Ty Lee removed her hands from her hips and instead crossed her arms. Her stomach, arms, and a majority of her legs were bare. "You also said that you would be _quick_."

"When a princess gives you an order, you follow it!" Azula snapped.

The biddy noblemen wives began murmuring amongst themselves, occasionally pointing between Ty Lee and Azula. Zuko grinned broadly, clearly enjoying himself.

"Since when have I followed all of your orders?"

The wives gasped. "She just talked back to the princess!"

_"Scandalous!"_

Zuko, too, even gasped. He was utterly shocked at the behavior of Ty Lee. The usually bubbly acrobat had always been very sweet and compliant of anything Azula did or said. Never in the years that he has known her had Ty Lee responded to his sister with such edge and dominance. The prince then shuddered. He didn't want to think about Ty Lee being _dominant _with his sister.

"Could someone _please_ inform us as to what exactly is going on?" A woman wearing blood red next to the woman in orange was flailing her arms in the air.

"Oh, shush, May Ling!" The short woman with the crimson robes that were too large for hissed, nudging her friend in the side with her elbow.

Prince Zuko took this opportunity to further embarrass his sister, much like she had done to him just moments ago. "It seems that my dear sister has been keeping a secret from us. A secret about her...romantic liaisons. Isn't that right, Azula?

Azula's face grew a darker shade of red. "Ty Lee. My chamber. Now!" She growled, threatening the usually pink girl with a hidden blue flame.

Ty Lee's eyes grew wide at the sight of the flame. With a huff, she stomped off to Azula's room, ignoring the mutters from the old women at the end of the stairs. Azula then turned on her heel to face the gossiping women. She let the flame in her hand become more visible, fueling it with her temper.

May Ling and the women surrounding her all gasped for the umpteenth time that night. One of them fainted and fell to the lavishly carpeted floor with a resounding _thud_. Mai's mother, who was still there, was the only one who cared about the woman passed out on the ground. She pulled a red fan out of her sleeve and blew air on her while the other women ignored the scene.

"Oh, you're fire doesn't scare _us_! We're noblemen wives!" May Ling said, waving her hand around carelessly.

"And what does that have to do with anything?" It was Zuko who asked this question and not Azula. The princess merely blew out her fire and looked inquisitively at her brother and then at the gossiping group.

"Yes," Azula said. "I would like to know that as well. You are wives of seemingly high-powered governmental men. Why is that so important?"

"We've seen it all!" Said the woman in orange, throwing her hands up.

"You two have been gallivanting around the world, doing Agni-knows-what, and now you're cooped up in the palace with no one but servants to converse with." The small woman with the large robes added in. "You have _no idea_ the scandals that have been going on here in the homeland!"

The woman who had fainted suddenly shot up from the ground. "Quit changing the subject, ladies! I still want to know about Lady Mai's pregnancy."

Mai's mother ceased her fanning and swallowed hard. From the end of the stairwell, Prince Zuko and Princess Azula exchanged glances full of relief, embarrassment, and complete awkwardness.

* * *

**Author's note: **It's been awhile. I think I'm starting to lose sight of this. Crack!fic, anyone? 'Cause like, with the noblemen wives, it's starting to turn into one... BUT I MEAN, IT'S STILL SO MUCH FUN TO WRITE LALALALA.


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